Tharanga Paranavitana was born in the small town of Kegalle in Sri Lanka. He made a name for himself with the Sri Lankan Emerging XI in 2003, being the leading run-scorer with 242 runs in 3 innings. Known to be a talented player, Paranavitana disappeared from the scene, only to resurface in 2007, helping his domestic side, Sinhalese SC to the Premier League Tier A title. He made a career best 236 in one game, displaying courage after having to retire hurt when he was on 5 in the second over due to his being struck a blow on the box. He finished 2007-08 season as the leading run-getter with 893 runs from nine matches (avg. 74.41).

That season led Anura Tennakoon, the former Sri Lankan captain, to shower praises on him, calling him a future Test opening bat for Sri Lanka. Tennakoon called Paranavitana a good opening bat with the ability to know where his off stump is, the most important thing for a batsman. He also noted that Paranavitana had the patience to play long innings and was an ideal long game player.

Paranavitana made 159 in an unofficial Test match against the Proteas A side in 2008, an innings which underlined his credentials once more and which put him on the national radar. He made 293 runs in 5 innings on that tour, finishing 3rd in the top run-getters list. After another strong domestic season, Paranavitana was finally called into the Lankan side to make his debut against Pakistan in March 2009.

He did not have a memorable debut as he was dismissed for a first ball duck in his maiden innings. That tour was cut short by a terror attack and Paranavitana made his first fifty in his 4th Test innings when he made 72 against Pakistan in Galle. He performed admirably making 242 runs in the 3 match series, weathering a strong Pakistani seam attack. He cemented his place as a permanent opener, pushing the likes of Upul Tharanga and Michael Vandort down the pecking order.

Paranavitana's strengths are his lovely off drives. He also can play the square cut and the straight drive with gay abandon. He countered spinners Saeed Ajmal and Kaneria quite well, using his feet to get to the pitch and smothering the spin. He had a blot on his record when he was fined 50% of his match fees for violating ICC's Code of Conduct in a Test match against New Zealand. Paranavitana was found guilty of breaching Level 2 of the code when he claimed a catch off Iain O'Brien, even though replays confirmed that the ball had bounced.